A daily dose of unique art, culture and technology from around the world.

Vintage L.L. Bean Catalog Covers Recreated as Modern-Day Photos

For their 100 year anniversary celebration, Maine-based outdoor retailer L.L. Bean brought on commercial photographer Randal Ford to create modern-day photo reinterpretations of their classic catalog cover art from the past. For the photo of the 1933 catalog cover art, Ford shot the images of local residents at Maine’s Acadia National Park incorporating some pieces from the L.L. Bean wardrobe archives.

The apparel is a mix of old and new. For example, the older man is wearing vintage L.L.Bean waders we found on Ebay, while his fly rod and coat are from L.L.Bean’s archives in Freeport. The young boy in the same cover is wearing an outfit borrowed from the Metropolitan Opera. The woman is wearing a shirt from L.L.Bean Signature, but it is remarkably similar to the shirt in the original painting. The man is wearing a chamois shirt, pants, and belt from L.L.Bean’s current menswear line…

The reinterpretations of the 1933 and 1956 covers will appear on catalogs coming out in late January and late March 2012, respectively. We know people may be intrigued by the art, so we are making the images available for purchase as canvas reprints.